to be hard (to do); to be difficult; to require much effort; to be laborious; to be backbreaking; to have trouble (doing)
to chip (off); to shave off; to sharpen; to dampen (one's enthusiasm, interest, etc.); to reduce
easily; readily; with ease; without trouble
to prove a loss; to be a disadvantage; to not pay
without compensation; without reward; without pay; free (of charge)
to be a point of honor; to affect someone's good name
no matter what it takes; by any means necessary; at all costs; by hook or by crook
to make a vow; to take an oath
had better ...; had better not ...
dirt cheap; super cheap; bargain-priced
to buy in quantity; to buy a lot (of); to stock up (on); to lay in
supply; provision; service; supply
sacrifice sale; selling at a loss; dumping; clearance sale
majority; more than half; most (of); mostly; largely; mainly
to assemble everything together; to do something as a group
row of houses; every house; each house; all; totally
my goodness!; oh my!; oh dear!
buying; shopping; buyer; purchase
deep emotion; strong feelings
debt; loan; liabilities; number of games under the .500 mark
to get stuck with (some job); to end up with (something unpleasant)
coming and going; traffic; road; street; association; socializing
confident; assured; self-assured; bullish
as stated; verbatim; literally
to be found; to be discovered
disabling; invalidation; nullification; vitiation
highest price; price ceiling
a long time (since the last time); first in a long time; it's been a long time; long time no see
obvious; (as) clear as day; plain to see
the trouble is that ...; the problem is that ...; unfortunately; annoyingly
popular line (of products); best-selling line; hot sellers
price reduction; price cut; reduction in price; markdown
consideration; examination; investigation; study; scrutiny; discussion
serious; severe; grave; acute
to assume an air of ...; to act ...; to affect ...; to put on airs; to be self-important
full payment; liquidation
standard; set; routine; decided
material (for a story, article, etc.); information; joke; jest; proof; evidence; (magician's) trick
order; sequence; procedure